Were Iran's secret new 'loitering' missiles responsible for scoring a direct hit on a F-35 stealth fighter jet during Operation Epic Fury?

By TOM MIDLANE and JOSEPH LUKE PALMER Published: 11:16, 11 June 2026 | Updated: 11:25, 11 June 2026 Was a new breed of 'secret' Iranian missiles responsible for helping the Islamic Republic secure a direct hit on a F-35 jet during Operation Epic Fury?  That's the question posed by foreign correspondent Chris Pleasance in the latest episode of the Daily Mail's War On Tape. The 'unkillable' F-35 is the cornerstone of US and Israeli airforces, with top speed of Mach 1.6 (~1,200 mph) and an internal weapons payload of up to 5,700lbs. But despite its fearsome reputation, footage emerged in March of one of the state-of-the-art stealth fighter jets appearing to be struck in mid-air.  US Central Command later confirmed that an F-35 was forced to make an emergency landing after an incident over Iranian airspace.  Military insiders have suggested that the aircraft, piloted by US-Israeli forces, was struck by a class of subsonic surface-to-air missiles known as the 358 and 359.    Pleasance said: 'This should have been an almost impossible shot with conventional anti-air missiles, because the F-35 is built to be invisible to long-range radar.  'Most conventional missiles use radar for guidance, and they can't hit what they can't see.  Iran's 358 and 359 'missiles' are both types of 'loitering munitions' which travel to a predetermined location, then fly in a giant figure of eight pattern until they locate a target  The 'unkillable' F-35 (pictured) stealth fighter jet is the cornerstone of US and Israeli airforces Footage emerged in March of an F-35 appearing to be hit by a missile in mid-air over Iran - the first time the model had been damaged during active service 'But the 359 is far from a conventional weapon, and it doesn't use radar, it uses infrared, and the F-35 can't hide from that, because its engine gets hot.' The 358 is the smaller of the two projectiles: at only nine foot-long, it has a range of 60 miles and can reach speeds of 400mph. It weighs 110lbs and can carry a warhead of up to 22lbs.   The 359 is the bigger brother of the 358: twice the size, it has a range of 100 miles, can ascend to 30,000 feet, and hit speeds of 600mph. Both the 358 and 359 are not technically missiles but 'loitering munitions' - a cross between a drone and a missile. 'What they do is take off from their launcher, fly to a predetermined location, and then start flying in a giant figure of eight pattern,' Pleasance said.   'They're loitering, waiting for a target to find them rather than going to find a target, while loitering their IR seeker is scanning the skies for infrared signatures, that's the heat signature that enemy drones, helicopters, and jets make when compared to the much cooler air around them. 'When it recognizes one of those targets, which have to be programmed into it beforehand, it flies towards them until it makes contact, at which point it explodes.' The 358 and 359 are thought to have proved highly successful against the US's slower-flying reaper drones. Iran's 358 surface-to-air missile can be launched from the back of a truck, as pictured here An Iranian 358 missile on its launcher - a simple rail mounted on top of a truck covered with camoflague netting America has lost 24 reapers since the start of hostilities in Iran - at a cost of more than $750million.  The 358 and 359s are also thought to have taken down at least another 13 reapers during the American bombing campaign in the Islamic Republic the previous year. Pleasance said: 'The Reapers were lethal in the fight against Al Qaeda and ISIS, but they're also slow moving and spend a long time loitering over battlefields as well, meaning they're relatively easy for a loitering munition like the 358 to spot.  'Once the 358 has locked on, the Reapers have few countermeasures to throw it off again and are relatively easy to catch up with.'  Iran has also shipped the missiles to its proxies in other countries, including the Houthis in Yemen. The 359 is rumoured to have damaged an Apache helicopter in Yemen, suggesting it is capable of going after major military hardware.  'While it can take down Reapers, this isn't thought to be its primary purpose,' Pleasance said.  'Analysts think this thing is supposed to go after aircraft like helicopters, mid-air refueling jets, and potentially even F-35.   'There are rumors that an Apache helicopter worth around $50 million each was damaged by one of these in Yemen, and of course the US lost a KC-135 Stratotanker over Iran. 'We think that was due to a collision with another refueler because of the damage we saw afterwards, but what caused the tankers to crash into each other in the first place?  'It could easily have been turbulence, or it might not have been.' Watch War On Tape on the Daily Mail World channel on YouTube.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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